I Was Never A Child
by saria almasy albatou kinneas
Summary: One night seemed good for slacking, but Haku wants to play, how will Zbuza react? what will they do? YOUNG Haku, so no yaoi!


DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING OF NARUTO! ONLY MY IDEAS! DON'T SUE! I'M POOR!  
  
I Was Never A Child  
  
Zabuza sat reading a scroll. He had trained for hours that day and was  
  
exhausted, so he had designated this evening for simply reading up on some  
  
new techniques. Or so he said, he wasn't really reading, just sort of   
  
pretending to read and staring off into space, he was essentially just   
  
vegging out and relaxing. He knew no one would bug him if they saw he was   
  
occupied. So he didn't need to worry about doing anything that night, but   
  
when you have free time, something will have a way of occupying that time,   
  
in the most irritable way possible. But he wasn't expecting this...  
  
"Zabuza san?" It was Haku. He was standing in the doorway and looking   
  
at Zabuza. He held a rabbit in his arms. At his small size the rabbit   
  
looked very large and it was a rather adorable sight, though Zabuza would   
  
never admit it.  
  
"Can't you see I'm busy, Haku." he said, irritatedly without really  
  
looking up from his scroll.  
  
"No, I can't, sir." Zabuza looked up angrily. Who did that kid think   
  
he was?  
  
"If I have my face turned towards a scroll, and I'm not doing anything  
  
else but this, I am clearly-"  
  
"-pretending to read?" Haku looked at him with those big brown eyes,   
  
so did the rabbit. Zabuza prentended that he wasn't caught in the act of  
  
slacking off.  
  
"Now tell me, how do you come to that conclusion?" Haku looked at him   
  
as if it were obvious. He stepped closer into the room so that there wasn't  
  
so much space separating them.  
  
"When I came in, you were looking at a scroll, but your eyes weren't   
  
moving anywhere, which would indicate you weren't really reading, just   
  
staring at the paper and pretending to read. And your face had a blank   
  
expression on it. If you really were reading, you would have had a look of  
  
concentration on your face as you took in the information. Another   
  
indication you were only pretending to read." Haku said, pointing out all   
  
the things that Zabuza had forgotten about. It really was amazing how such a   
  
young boy could spot such small details from just standing in the doorway.   
  
Zabuza was caught and even he had to admit it. He was really quite proud of   
  
Haku.  
  
"Since you can tell me all of that, why don't you try telling me WHY  
  
I would be pretending to read?" He said, he may have been caught, but he   
  
would still get the last word in.  
  
Haku took a moment to think When he came up with an answer he lowered  
  
his eyes a bit. "Becase you wanted to be left alone. I'm sorry Zabuza san"  
  
Zabuza nodded at Haku but he couldn't help feeling that small prick of guilt  
  
that you get when you make a child sad. He sighed in exasperation.  
  
"Well, what did you want? I assume you did have a reason for coming  
  
here?" He said, he might as well figure out what the boy wanted.  
  
"It wasn't really important. I'll leave you alone" Haku turned to go   
  
but Zabuza stopped him.  
  
"So you interrupted me and now you are going to leave without saying  
  
anything. You bothered me for nothing." Zabuza turned back to his previous  
  
job of fake-reading. He knew Haku would have to tell him now. And Haku did   
  
indeed turn back with his head lowered.  
  
"I was just wondering, why you felt you had to pretend to read and   
  
close everyone else out in order to relax? Is it fun?" Haku looked up at him  
  
again to try and see a reaction. what he saw was Zabuza looking back at him   
  
with his own questioning, yet thoughtful look. He took a deep breath.  
  
"Haku, it isn't that it's fun, I'm tired and I just wanted some  
  
'quiet time'. It's easier for me to relax alone" Zabuza said. He didn't   
  
really have a good reason for it, he just did it. He always had been alone  
  
so it was more natural for him to be more relaxed when he was alone.  
  
"Oh...I like to relax with other people, I like to hear others   
  
laughing with me, that's what makes me happy. That and a nap. Have you ever  
  
tried relaxing with others?" Zabuza put down the scroll, it was clear he  
  
wouldn't be reading it anytime soon, or pretending to either.  
  
"No, Haku, I haven't, In case you haven't noticed, I'm not a very   
  
sociable person" Haku looked deeper at him and walked up to his chair.  
  
"That's sad, didn't you have any friends when you were my age?"  
  
"No, I killed all the possbile friends I could've had before I even   
  
knew them" Zabuza said, reflecting on that day when he first went to the   
  
academy...Good times, gooood times!  
  
"So you never played?" Haku looked up at him, he looked sad.  
  
"No, not really, when I was a baby, I imagine my parents played with   
  
me, but other than that, no, I didn't play" Zabuza said, thoughtful once   
  
again. "I don't remember a lot about them either way though so it doesn't  
  
matter."  
  
"What do you remember about them?" Haku asked. It was natural for the  
  
boy to be curious.  
  
"Like I said, not alot, and it isn't anything important that I do   
  
remember" Haku didn't relent.  
  
"But I still want to know! please tell me about your parents?" Haku   
  
said, using his child cuteness and a hopeful voice. It wasn't fair, even  
  
Zabuza couldn't resist that!  
  
Zabuza sighed and plucked Haku up from his place and sat him down on   
  
his lap. "Well...I remember that my mother was pretty, I think. And my   
  
father was a very well built man as close as I could figure. He had a deep  
  
voice, but it wasn't a nice one, it was cold and cruel, he never really   
  
paid any attention to me that I remember. But my mother..." He looked a   
  
little distant, as if remembering a very sweet and fond memory. "My mother   
  
had the voice of an angel...I do remember that she was always with me, I  
  
remember her the best..." Zabuza closed his eyes, to remember her once more  
  
from the memories he could scrape together.   
  
Haku sighed happily "she sounds very nice...I miss my mother..." He   
  
looked sad again. Then all of a sudden his face brightened up again.   
  
"Zabuza san? Our fathers were very much the same." Zabuza was slightly   
  
startled out of his memories. It was such an abrupt comment, but it was   
  
true. Zabuza thought about it a bit.  
  
"You're right Haku, they were, at the end anyways." Haku nodded  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Out in the hallway, a couple of random henchmen were listening. And   
  
why not? it wasn't like Zabuza opened up like this often. And certainly   
  
not to them. One of them snickered.  
  
"I know something else they have in common!" Random Henchman 1   
  
snickered, covering his mouth with one hand to stifle the noise.  
  
"What?" asked the second.  
  
"They were both 'Mama's Boys'" The first one laughed again. The second   
  
started to have fits of giggles as well. They quickly ran away before they  
  
were discovered.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Back into the room with Zabuza and Haku.  
  
Haku looked up at Zabuza once again. He looked a little thoughtful and   
  
then he smiled happily.  
  
"I think we should play!" He said suddenly. Zabuza did a double take.  
  
"We should what?"  
  
"We should play! I haven't played in such a long time, and you've  
  
never really played at all! I think everyone should play once in a while.  
  
You might like it, Zabuza san" Haku looked hopeful, again employing his   
  
natural, irresistable, chibi-cuteness. Zabuza looked helplessly at him and  
  
siged, he needed to learn how to do that, it would be a lot quicker and   
  
easier to take over the Wave Country. He didn't know why, but something deep  
  
inside of him agreed with Haku, he sort of wanted to play. Maybe playing   
  
would be good for him? Stranger things had happened. He sighed.  
  
"Alright, we'll play" He said finally. Haku could have jumped for joy.  
  
"What do you want to play?" He asked, fearing the worst. Before Haku could   
  
speak though, he felt he needed to add one more thing. "I have one   
  
condition, I don't want to play anything stupid or make myself look like a   
  
loser! So nothing like 'Teddy Bear Picnic', 'Tea Party' or 'Dress-up'! Got   
  
it?"  
  
Haku made a face and stuck out his tongue in disgust. "No way! I   
  
wouldn't play that! Those are girls games!" Zabuza rolled his eyes.  
  
"Oh yeah, girls are 'icky' right?" Haku looked at him in astonishment.  
  
"You think so too Zabuza san? Wow! we have a lot in common after all!"  
  
Zabuza gave him a blank stare. Haku smiled "I want to play Hide-and-Go-  
  
Seek!" Zabuza thought for a moment, there was no harm in that game, nothing   
  
stupid, he might even get Haku to learn a few tricks while he was at it. He   
  
nodded.  
  
"Let's make this a bit more of an excercise, shall we? When you are   
  
hiding, or seeking, I want you to use as much stealth and Ninja techniques  
  
as possible, alright?" Zabuza looked down at Haku who was beaming with joy.  
  
"What's that look for?"  
  
"If we call it an 'excercise' can we do it all the time? It's like a   
  
more fun type of training!" Zabuza stared at him. Only Haku could manage to  
  
put it that way so quickly...Zabuza nodded again.  
  
"Alright, we'll see how it goes today and then I'll think about   
  
making it a usual practice excercise." Haku almost did jump for joy.  
  
"YAY! Ok! who should hide first?" After a bit of debating they settled  
  
on doing a Janken match. Zabuza lost and so he was the seeker. He gave Haku  
  
ten seconds to hide, which he found himself a place that he thought Zabuza  
  
would never find him. Bear in mind that he is young and still rather naive.  
  
Zabuza started the Hunt. He searched through the bedrooms, the   
  
bathroom, the kitchen cupboards and everywhere else until he came to the   
  
living room. He's gotta be in here somewhere He thought. And was he ever  
  
right...  
  
Zabuza spotted the couch cushions...moving. There was a very odd lump  
  
in the middle and the cushions were slightly askew and off-kilter. He   
  
sighed but then decided to teach him a lesson about hiding better, without  
  
scolding him.  
  
"Hmmm, I've checked everywhere! Where could Haku possibly be?" He said   
  
in a sarcastically funny voice, obviously uncharacteristic of him. He   
  
decided to draw it out a bit since the cushions had started shaking with the  
  
silent giggles of the young boy who obviously thought Zabuza would never find  
  
him where he was in the couch.  
  
Zabuza pretended to check behind the bookshelf, curtains and many other places  
  
in the room. "Hmmm I guess he's outsmarted me! I think i'll take a rest on the *couch*  
  
until he decides to come out!" With that Zabuza plopped himself down on the couch,   
  
knowingly right on top of Haku. Haku let out a small squeek of surprise before quickly   
  
covering his mouth to surpress some giggles. Hr was trying desperatley not to wriggle   
  
while he laughed. Zabuza was very heavy.  
  
Zabuza grinned, Haku was failing miserably and the couch cushions were still moving.  
  
He decided to stretch and lie down on the couch, making sure to apply as much weight as   
  
possible onto the cushions, and therefore, Haku. "aaah, my this couch is rather lumpy! maybe   
  
I shout beat the cushions to make it softer?" Zabuza said, making sure Haku could hear him   
  
clearly. Haku let out a squeel.  
  
"No Zabuza san! It's me Haku! I'm under you! get off! you're too heavy! please don't beat  
  
the couch!" Zabuza couldn't stop himself from laughing as he got up, pushing into the couch   
  
cushions with his palms. He yanked off the cushions and Haku rolled out giggling like mad and  
  
gasping for breath.  
  
"and THAT'S why you should learn better hiding skills! Now it's YOUR turn to find ME!"  
  
Haku kept giggling but he nodded, left the room and began to count. Zabuza thought. Where   
  
should I hide? Somewhere he'll never find me! ...no, that isn't very fair, I don't even know   
  
why I care...but I suppose..." Zabuza looked over at the floor lamp. I suppose it couldn't   
  
hurt...to make it more fun, hell, we can train later, I can go down to Haku's level of fun for   
  
a while. Quickly he grabbed the lampshade and hid the floor lamp. Placing the lampshade   
  
securley on his own head he stood as straight as he couldwith his arms and legs at his sides.   
  
He snickered I...am a floorlamp...  
  
"TEN!" Haku shouted and he ran about to look for Zabuza. When he re-etered the living   
  
room he looked at the floorlamp. It looked different...the lamp was usually a lot thinner, and  
  
it didn't have arms and legs last time he checked. Haku sweatdropped. "Zabuza san...that's even  
  
more pathetic than me hiding under the couch cushions..."  
  
Zabuza cracked a grin, removing the lampshade from his head. "Just showing you how easily  
  
you can be discovered!" He lied. He had to admit, he was having fun. He got a sudden urge and  
  
lunged at Haku. Haku shreeked as Zabuza began to tickle the little boy into fits of laughter.  
  
But when Haku started to recover from the initial shock, he attacked back. Right into Zabuza's  
  
stomach, where he was the most ticklish, and then he squirmed around and got his toes. Now it  
  
was Zabuza's turn to shreak. He was incredibly ticklish at his toes. He started to giggle. And  
  
Zabuza giggling is definitley one adorable sight.   
  
The laughter and their game could be heard until late in the night. The other men in the   
  
house had long gone to bed snickering about Zabuza giggling. It was later that Zabuza escorted   
  
Haku to his room, both of them still panting heavily from the 'excercise'. Haku looked up at   
  
Zabuza.  
  
"Zabuza san? can we do this tomorrow?" Zabuza smirked. It was fun. He wouldn't mind doing  
  
it agan, but his stomach and toes needed a rest.  
  
"Maybe not tomorrow Haku, the day after." Haku looked sad again but smiled.  
  
"Then I have something to look forward to! I'm going to work really hard tomorrow on my   
  
illusion skills! you'll NEVER find me!" With that Haku skipped off to bed, happier than ever.  
  
Zabuza did the same...minus the skipping, he had to salvage something of his pride.  
  
Some time later the next week...Haku succeeded in stumping Zabuza...He couldn't find him   
  
for a whole hour, not until Haku jumped out at him, he had henge'd into a couch cushion this   
  
time. It was then decided, after Zabuza's heart attack, that the couch was Haku's favourite  
  
place to hide, and therefore was a place to watch out for. They had had fun with this game.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
HI! I'M SORRY I HAVEN'T UPDATED IN LIKE...A YEAR! BUT HERE YA GO! A STORY FROM MY NEW   
  
OBSESSION! I HOPE YOU LIKED IT! Fanarts would be GREATLY appreciated! Just send me an e-mail   
  
about what the fanart is about, and definitley scan and send me a copy! I wanna see these!  
  
Thanks! 


End file.
